ABOUT
My name is Heather Patterson. I am an adult and paediatric emergency physician and photographer based in Calgary, Canada.
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My current project is a wellness-based documentary photography initiative which respectfully shares the experiences of frontline hospital staff as well as patients and families. It also offers the opportunity for healthcare providers to reflect on our experiences and look forward with hope during our current healthcare system crisis.
Intimate images of healthcare workers, support staff, patients and families, shed light on the compassion, teamwork, and even joy that can be found amidst tragedy. The images and stories highlight love and loss, kindness and grace, and the importance of authenticity during an epidemic of burnout, delivering a message that is relevant and critically important during our current health-care crisis.
Heather
Heather Patterson, BScH, MD, FRCPC Emergency Medicine
AWARDS
Photo Essay and Photojournalism, Honourable Mention - National Magazine Awards, June 2022
​Award for Medical Journalism - Canadian Association of Emergency Medicine, May 2022
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FEATURES
Dec 7, 2022 | The Globe and Mail
The faces of perseverance in our children's hospitals
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Oct 4, 2022 | CBC Radio - The Current
How one ER doctor photographed the intimate moments of critical care
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Sept 17, 2022 | Global News Calgary
Calgary physician documents COVID-19 through photography
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Sept 15, 2022 | CBC News - The Homestretch
Calgary doctor's new book captures photos of health-care workers, patients during pandemic
Sept 14, 2022, 2022 | The Calgary Herald
Calgary ER doctor's photography book captures COVID-19 in city hospitals
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Sept 13, 2022 | CBC News Calgary
Calgary emergency room physician releases book documenting the pandemic through photos
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July 15, 2021 | Alberta Medical Association
Calgary Physician-Photographer Documents Frontline COVID Response
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June 11, 2021 | College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta
Images from the Pandemic Front Lines
June 1, 2021 | Maclean's Magazine
Alone and Afraid: Alberta's Third Wave in Photos
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May 8, 2021 | CTV News Channel
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May 1, 2021 | City News Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto
Rare photographs reflect fight against COVID-19
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April 23, 2021 | 770 News Radio
PhotoDoc: An Interview with Dr. Heather Patterson
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April 23, 2021 | CTV Calgary
Photography of pandemic depicts exhaustion, tragedy inside Calgary's Foothills Hospital
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Mar 22, 2021 | Maclean's Magazine
Year One: The untold story of the pandemic p.44-45
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Mar 18, 2021 | Calgary Herald
'Speaks to the strength of our team': How Calgary's health-care workers managed one year of the pandemic
Mar 8, 2021 | Calgary Herald
​The pandemic shows how far women have come and how far they have left to go
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Jan 18, 2021 | CBC The National
Doctor turned documentarian​​
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Jan 18, 2021 | Global Calgary
Calgary ER doctor takes sabbatical to photograph colleagues on COVID-19 front lines
Jan 15, 2021 | CTV Calgary
Photos from inside Calgary COVID-19 wards
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Jan 15, 2021 | COVID Kindness, Canadian Medical Association
ER doctor captures humanity and hope through hospital photography project
Jan 14, 2021 | CBC Calgary
Calgary ER doctor captures life on the frontlines of pandemic through photography project​​​
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Jan 14, 2021 | CBC Calgary Radio
How a Calgary emergency room doctor is chronicling the COVID-19 pandemic with her camera